E3 2010: The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest Update

We go hacking and slashing our way through a family-friendly rendition of Middle Earth.

By Cam Shea

It's been a while since we've seen Aragorn's Quest, but it's here at E3 (only on Wii – the Move version's not at the show) and we've had a waggle to see how it's coming along.

For those of you who haven't been following the game, the basic set-up is that it follows Aragorn from the time he first meets Frodo and co. all the way through to the fellowship's triumph over Sauron and Aragorn being crowned King. The presentation is deliberately cartoony - this isn't a gritty, bloody action game, but a title for the whole family.

The story is actually told by Sam, who's recounting it to his son Frodo (yes, he called his son Frodo, for those that didn't know) back in the Shire. Aragorn the King is coming for a visit apparently, so he's bringing young Frodo up to speed. The sequences in the Shire also act as tutorials, with Frodo learning the basics of combat and other gameplay mechanics.

As far as we know, players won't be able to command the other members of the fellowship.

Aragorn's Quest is a straight-up action game, with players wading their way through the many pitched battles from the films. The sequence we played saw Aragorn fighting alongside Gimli, Legolas and the Ghost Army at Minas Tirith. Combat is pretty straightforward, with left, right, down, up and thrust attacks, plus the ability to hold B to charge up attacks. Aragorn's shield can also be used to do more than just block, with a shield thrust move (jab with the Nunchuk) that can be used to counter attacks or used against some enemies wielding shields to break their block. Aragorn can swap out the shield for other things, such as a flaming torch.

Aragorn also has a bow that is aimed by pointing the Wiimote, and importantly, it can be upgraded – as can other weapons. The bow we were using in the demo, for instance, had been upgraded with black arrowtips which means it can target multiple enemies at once, while each arrow was flighted using eagle feathers, which allows Aragorn to slow time – or enter 'Elf Vision', as it's called in the game.

The upgrade system is based around Artifacts, and these can be stacked on top of each other, so players aren't forced to – say - choose between the black arrowtips and eagle feathers. Players will also earn and find Artifacts for the other members of the fellowship, so they'll get new bonuses over the course of the game too.

Aragorn's Quest also has Fellowship Tokens, which do things like upgrade the stats of characters, or give them specific perks. Orc Bane, for instance, gives the owner higher attack stats against Orcs.

Camper.

Players will come across a number of signature objects from the films too. Once Aragorn is given the Horn of Gondor, for instance, he's able to blow it to rally the other members of the fellowship. It will take off a 'fear state' status effect if your allies have one (fear states can be created by enemies like trolls), while it's also used to heal. If one of the fellowship goes down and you don't want to break away from battle to heal him, the Horn of Gondor will do the trick. Palantirs, on the other hand, bear little resemblance to their role in the films. Peering into one will give players a map of the area, complete with items of interest.

Combat itself is solid, and players will come up against a wide array of iconic enemies from Tolkien's world. Plus, their armor and weaponry is randomly assigned, which means their weaknesses and attack patterns will shift up every time you play. A troll, for instance, could wield a hammer, a mace or a sword. Best of all, the battlefields promise to be pretty sizeable, especially at locations like the Black Gates, where there can be up to a hundred figures on-screen.

This is where having a friend hop into co-op as Gandalf might help...

Rounding the experience out is drop-in, drop-out co-op, which is available throughout Aragorn's Quest, with the second player taking on the role of Gandalf. All told, this is looking like a fun game for more casual players and Lord of the Rings fans alike.